Attack Of The Garden Gnomes
by Redfaerie
Summary: The definition of dysfunctional: Moving in with the brother you haven't seen in 5 years since you abandoned him for being gay. And his boyfriend who hates you. Across the street from a flamboyant redhead you want nothing to do with...who missed that memo
1. Chapter 1

**Hello guys! Welcome to yet another fic of mine. I really do sgtart entirely too many :( It's a sickness for which I have yet to find a cure. But oh well...Everything will get finished...eventually. So yeah... Hello and welcome to my latest AkuRoku fic. I hope you enjoy it!

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**Chapter 1**

Roxas blinked, staring up at the house before him. It wasn't particularly intimidating, wasn't looming in any way, or painted an ominous color. In fact, as far as houses went it was exceptionally welcoming- A modest two story house, pale blue with white trim, set atop a lush, green, lawn. There were pretty yellow curtains in the windows, and a little cobblestone path leading up to the front steps which led to a nice, unassuming, wooden porch. There was even a flower garden in the front with a delightful selection of plants in all colors of the rainbow. There was even a rocking chair, and little pinwheels, both of which moved in the peaceful breeze.

The scene was pretty much as calm and sweet as could be, and yet the very sight of this place filled Roxas with a sense of dread. He was cold, his palms sweating in his pockets, his heart in his throat. He could feel his stomach clench, threatening to be sick all over this perfectly un-swept, walkway. Because despite what one might think about a house like this, there was no sweet little old lady living inside, no cats to be seen. No. Inside lived his brother. And his brother's boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath, he climbed the stairs, each cozy little creek like a arrow through his heart. He shouldn't be here, he knew that. He had no right to walk up these steps, to intrude upon the peaceful little life that he knew that Sora had built here. No right to shake up his brother's cozy little life like a snow globe in an earthquake.

And that _was_ what would happen, no doubt about it. It was inevitable. Especially considering that the last time he'd seen his brother had been five years ago, flipping him the bird before slamming the car door and speeding away, his last words thrown harshly in his face, leaving him stricken and very close to tears.

He sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face as his last image of his brother flashed through his mind, his hair messier than usual, eyes wide and shining, shoulder's slumped dejectedly.

_What did he do after that?_ Roxas wondered, staring at the small peephole on the door. _What is he doing now? _He tried to picture his brother somewhere in this perfect little house, tried to imagine what he'd be doing now, and wasn't surprised to find that he came up empty. He didn't know the kind of things that twenty-three year old Sora did, didn't know who twenty-three year old Sora was, except that he was his last blood relation. And his only hope.

Maybe.

_He shouldn't help you_ Roxas's mind whispered, _He has no reason to. You don't deserve it. You were the one who pushed him from your life, ignored his calls until they stopped. He'll just slam the door in your face and he'll have every reason to. _

Swallowing down those thoughts, Roxas brought his hand up defiantly, rapping it several times again the wood. Listening to the sounds inside. There was a TV on somewhere, Roxas thought, the muffled sounds coming through. Then...laughter. It was live, light and happy and hit Roxas like a punch in the gut. Because while he was sure that countless things had changed over the years, Sora's laugh hadn't. It was still carefree, the sound of pure personified happiness.

And he was about to dystroy it all.

"Hey- Get back here!"

"But the door-"

"Forget it."

"No!"

"Hey-"

The laughter came again, but Roxas barely noticed it. His attention captured by the other voice in there, a surge of pure disgust rising in his throat. It was _him_. Riku. The pretention asshole who'd corrupted his brother. If he'd never shown up none of this would ever happened. If he'd never met Sora , never introduced him to his sick, promiscuious lifestyle, his brother would have never changed. He'd never have become this way so...wrong. No, Sora had started out a normal, good, kid, and if not for Riku he'd still be that way. He'd still be with Roxas...

He was scowling harshly, his hands clenching util the nails dug into the flesh, leaving tiny, crescent, imprints upon his palm. He was shocked out of his hatred however by the clicks of the lock, the door swinging open. He froze. There, in the doorway stood his brother. He was taller, his hair longer but no less spiky, just sticking out further from his head. His face had lost some of it's round, childishness, his eyes...there was just something about them that was different. Older. His nose was a little crooked, as if he'd broken it or something, his muscles more defined than before. He was still scrawney...just...not as much so. And despite those miniscule differences he was still...Sora.

He was staring at Sora, studying him, so it was inevitable for him to notice the change that went over his features. His playful smile dropped, his eyes growing by at least three sizes, still so impossibly blue. His hands went limp, arms falling to his sides, and he was...staring. Just staring, his mouth falling open a little bit.

After several moments of staring at each other, Roxas forced words out of his impossibly dry throat.

"Hey Sor."

* * *

_"Roxas! Wait-where are you going! Come back!" Sora was running, his voice desperate, needy. It had been that way for several days now, since everything in his life had gone so wrong. His usually cheerfully colored clothes were dyed black, the color of mourning, for the deaths they'd honored several days ago. There'd been nothing quite like it...burrying their parents. It was just... They weren't old, certainly not old enough for this. Only 18. Still practically children. _

_ Sora had spent every moment since their deaths by Roxas's side, unable to handle this alone. Unable to make funeral preperations or even sit as the will was read. As they were each left ridiculous ammounts of money, it was all he could do to keep from crying. Roxas had been the strong one, the one to do those things and still hold him together. Hold him up. _

_ Until now..._

_ "We can talk about this! Roxas we have to talk about this-"_

_ "What's there to talk about?" He spat, throwing a suitcase into his car. "I fucking saw you..." He gave a light, humorless laugh. "Well, those words aren't really in the right order...are they?"_

_ "Rox-"_

_ "What the hell do you think you're doing Sora? What the fuck?"_

_ "I-"_

_ "And with him! Of all people! He's a guy Sora! You're not supposed to do that with men! It doesn't work!"_

_ "Yes it does!"_

_ "Heh." Yet another laugh was devoid of humor as he shook his head in disbelief. "That's you're defense? It's okay Roxas, we still found a way to do it. That doesn't make it right!"_

_ "I was upset!" He cried. "I was upset and you weren't supposed to see but...but you weren't there and...and.."_

_ "And?"_

_ "And I love him." The words came out on a choked sob, barely a whisper, but it was enough to __curn the bile in Roxas's stomah. The revulsion seeped into his face, stabbing Sora straight through the heart._

_ "You don't mean that. You can't. Sora he's a guy, you're a guy. It's wrong."_

_ "It's not!"_

_ "It is!"_

_ "So what!" Sora exclaimed, throwing his arms wide. "So you don't love me anymore? I'm gay, so what. I'm still your brother." Sora sniffed, waiting for Roxas to say something, but he didn't. "I love you, more than anything. You're my brother. Please Roxas...please don't do this. Please... Don't you still love me?" _

_ Closing his eyes, Roxas took a deep breath, letting it out slow, and when he was done, his gaze was cold. Unfeeling. "My life is fucked up enough right now without having some disgusting faggot for a brother." _

_ With his middle finger in the air, he turned and calmly got into his car. Looking back, he caught sight of Sora, his eyes wide, breaths coming in uneven gasps, tears surely on their way. His lip was trembling. He looked...destroyed...and for a moment, Roxas wanted nothing more than to run over there and grab him. To fx things like he always did. They may have been twins, but he was born five minutes earlier, he was the older brother. It was just a natural instinct to want to protect Sora. But he couldn't...not now, because his head hurt. Because he too had cried, when his brother wasn't watching, he too had just burried his parents, and now Sora drops this on him? _

_ He couldn't do this, couldn't handle it. His life was crumbling and this was the last thing he needed. It was wrong...a sin...just plain disgusting, and he expected him to be cool with this? Now of all times? It felt like he was taking advantage of him, like a betrayal of some kind, like a lie. He was angry and hurt and just...tired. So, so, tired, and just sick of everything. And so he pulled his eyes from his brother and turned them to the road, running his hand over his face, and pressed his foot down hard on the gas, as if able to outrun the world if only he drove fast enough.

* * *

_

"R-Roxas."

Sora's voice was soft, disbelieving as he stood there, frozen in place. It was understandable, Roxas knew. Since his foot had hit the gas pedal five years ago he'd made no attempt to contact his brother at all. Sora had tried, he remembered, God how he'd tried. He'd rang up his cell a million times, left him messages in his office once he'd been employed, tried everything from E-mail to fax, spanning a range of emotions from sadness to anger to hurt. And Roxas had deleted each one, ignoring the instinctive pain each one brought, determined that Sora was the one in the wrong.

"Um...Yeah. It's me."

Sora blinked, staring wide-eyed at the man before him. He was taller now, taller than Sora by just a bit, his blonde hair as stylishly disheveled as always, his eyes alarmingly blue to match Sora's own. His face...his face was so familiar and yet foreign all at once, and the last one he'd imagined when he'd left Riku on the couch moments ago. It was both the face he'd most and least wanted to see, and one he'd given up all hopes of ever glimpsing again. And now that he was here, standing on his porch, all he could wonder was...

"Why?"

Roxas winced, though Sora's tone wasn't mean, or even angry. It was still just...stunned.

"It's.." He swallowed. "It's a really long story. Just...Hell, I'm screwed. Like seriously fucked over and...I...have nowhere else to go..."

He knew how pathetic he sounded right now, how low he'd fallen. After making no contact with the man for five years, he knew damn well that it was stupid to expect help. He still believed what he had said then, every word. But those words had put that...look...on Sora's face...and he wasn't quite okay with that. Either way, it wasn't right for him to come here now expecting anything and he wouldn't have if he'd had anywhere else to go.

Sora knew that too, watching Roxas's discomfort. He'd yet to look him in the eye, his hands clenching and loosening, his feet shuffling. He didn't want to be there, Sora could tell, and once the shock wore off that this was really _Roxas_ and that he was really _there_ on his very porch, the memories were free to flood back. The hurt. The way his heart had caved in on itself as his brother sped away, the most important person in his life just throwing him away. Abandoning him at his weakest for something he had no control over...something that was good.

It was just love. That was never a bad thing. Admittedly, he hadn't told Roxas he was with Riku before- Worried about a reaction, though not anything near that extreme- and it hadn't even occurred after their parent's accident. Roxas had been out all day and he'd wanted, _needed_ comfort. Someone to hold him close and tell him it would all be okay. And Riku was good at that...So good at that. And he'd come over...and comforting had led to distracting and... it was then that Roxas had arrived back, hurrying to check in on his brother, knowing how he hated to be alone...

It hadn't taken long for Roxas to bail, for that to be the end. In one week he'd lost his parents, and his big brother and best friend. Looking at him now, despite the crushing sadness that nearly dampened his eyes, he couldn't stop the swell of love. Because this was still his big brother, and no matter what, he'd never hated him. He'd loved him too much...had never been able to stop.

And beneath that hurt and love was just the tiniest smidgen of hope. Because even though Roxas was clearly uncomfortable, obviously hadn't wanted to come here, he still had. He was here with him and he couldn't help but hope that maybe, _maybe_, this was the chance he'd been longing for. Maybe he could get his brother back. He knew he'd been loved once... and the Roxas he'd known, the kind one who'd cleaned up his scraped knees or let him sleep in his bed when he had nightmares... That Roxas had to be in there somewhere...Didn't he?

And besides. He knew as well as anybody, that for Roxas to be here, things had to be seriously wrong. And for the brother that he knew, and loved, and missed more than anything, there was no way that he could turn him down.

"Well..." Sora murmured, watched as Roxas visibly steeled himself for rejection and for a moment wondered if he should. He could turn him down, curse him out or flip him off. Nobody would blame him. But the tightening of his already suffocating chest refused and had him trying his best to hesitantly smile. He wasn't sure if his lips moved at all, but the attempt was there. "...Come on in..."

Stepping back, Sora allowed Roxas entrance into his and Riku's dream house, his emotion roiling until he felt sick from them, not knowing that Roxas felt very much the same.

* * *

He felt like an intruder as he stepped across the pretty, stone, tiles. The house was clean, freakishly so, like those houses from magazines, only it somehow achieved this while feeling comfortably lived in. There wasn't a speck of dust on the curio cabinet, but there was an empty pizza box, lying abandoned on the kitchen counter. Delicately stepping his way into the kitchen, he moved over to the table, but didn't sit down. Wasn't sure if he should. Was he allowed?

"You can sit."

Roxas bit the inside of his lip, sliding into a shiny, wooden, chair. Sora sat down across from him, his expression unreadable, before he stood again.

"So...how was your trip?" He asked softly, hesitantly. "Um...was it long? You know, from...wherever you were coming from. Do you want something to eat? Or drink or something? I think we've got pizza around here somewhe-"

"No." he replied, cutting Sora off.

"I grabbed something about an hour out."

"So where..."

"Twilight Town." He replied, staring at his hands as he arranged them on the table.

"That's far."

"Yeah."

The silence hung in the air like fog, neither man knowing what to say. What exactly did one say in this situation?

"So...how have you been?" Sora finally inquired, his eyes glued to his shoes. He hadn't sat back down, choosing to lean against the kitchen counter. "In Twilight Town."

"Pretty good...I guess...Until recently."

"Oh. That's good...Sort of..." Chewing on his lip slightly, Sora brought his eyes up to Roxas's, revealing the swirl of emotions there. The hurt and anxiety and fear. Majorily it was fear...Fear of saying the wrong thing. Of reminding Roxas why it was that he despised him so, of making him leave. It was hard having him here, but Sora wanted him to stay. Wanted it more than life itself. "Roxas...what happened? Why are you here? Why now?"

Roxas closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath, hia tongue tucked into his cheek, and was quiet for a moment before answering. "Sora...what did you do with the money?"

"What?"

"From Mom and Dad."

Silence. Finally, Sora gestured around the kitchen, his arm making wide, sweeping movements. "This. The house. And some of it's in savings...it was a lot of money and I mean...the house wasn't that expensive..." His voice trailed off as he sensed himself beginning to ramble, silence reigning as the universe righted itself into awkward quiet. "Why?"

"I bought stocks. A company... Have you heard of Organization 13, it's a video game thing..."

"Yeah. Riku has a brother there or something-"

Sora stopped talking suddenly, freezing, dreading Roxas's reaction. He headn't meant to mention Riku, hoped to God that Roxas wouldn't flip out on him or something. Cautiously, he darted his eyes in the direction of the living room, where he knew Riku was sprawled on the couch in a T-shirt and boxers watching the news or something. He'd been so warm, Sora remembered his lips curling up, so cozy. So much more welcoming than the atmosphere here, and he was tempted- Very tempted- to just leave. To just walk in there and curl up next to him and forget about everything else.

When Roxas didn't immediately jump up and declare his rekindled hatred of him Sora blinked.

"That's a really big company...You own half of that?"

"_Owned_."

"What happened?"

"The _Reader Digest _version is this: My girlfriend...my _fiance_, screwed me over. Siphoned money, sold off my stocks...Hell, I don't know how she did it but she took everything. My office, my credibility and my money. All of it. I've got..." He gestured a little helplessly, overwhelmed yet again by the enormity of his loss. "There's this suitcase, outside in my car. It's got some clothes and stuff. Shampoo and like...a razor. Thirty bucks...after gas getting down here...I had that in my wallet, she didn't get that but...That's it."

"That's..." Sora shook his head, staring down at his brother, without a clue what to say. What could you say? Part of him just wanted to hug him, had wanted to since he first laid eyes on him. That's what a younger Sora would have done, many years ago, to a younger Roxas. Now though...He didn't know.

His brother had owned a _humongous_ video game company, had been ridiculously rich, had had a _fiance!_ And Sora had never known. These were things that brothers were supposed to know. The fact that he hadn't...

"It-" Roxas started to answer, but he was cut off.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

The words were cold and harsh, cutting through the air like a knife. Turning, Roxas found himself face-to-face with Riku.

Even in boxers and a T-shirt, the man still seemed threatening, intimidating. Like someone who could kick your ass, and he knew it. Especially the way he was glaring, his eyes these blade of green ice, spearing through Roxas again and again. There was more than just anger there, there was a hot, deep-burning, hatred in their depths. Because he had been the one find Sora after Roxas left. To see him crumble and dissolve in to tears. While he was shaking with distraught, broken, sobs because his brother didn't love him, Riku had been the one to bring him inside and hold him, whispering softly to him until he fell asleep. Holding his hand over the next few days as he put on various fake expressions, being there to support him where his brother had failed. He alone knew just how hurt Sora had been by this. Hated Roxas with a passion for putting Sora through that kind of pain. Sora was, sweet, and kind, and hadn't deserved it. Any of it and more than anything, he wanted to make Roxas pay.

"I'm talking to Sora." Roxas voice had grown hard too, and Sora couldn't help but feel that he was stuck in the middle here of whatever this was.

"You don't get to talk to Sora, you don't get to _look_ at Sora. Get out."

"No."

"This is my fucking-"

"Riku." Sora interjected, his voice was weak, shaking slightly and he swallowed. "I've got this okay. I let him in just...Go back in the living room okay. Just...just go watch Tv. I'll..." His eyes were darting warily from Riku to Roxas in a way that only enraged Riku further.

"Sora-'  
"Go...please? I'll talk to you later okay."

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to more intimate tones.

"And you're gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. Of course." He cracked a grin that they both knew he didn't feel.

"And if you aren't?"

"I'll call you. Promise."

Despite his anxiety, Sora didn't stop Riku from pressing a reassuring kiss on the corner of his mouth, running his hand down his arm to squeeze his hand before exiting the room. But he didn't bother trying to hide the scathing, warning, glare aimed in Roxas's direction on his way out. The message was clear: _Hurt him again and you fucking die._

Sora's eyes followed Riku out before returning to the floor, unable to look up at Roxas. Not wanting to see the revulsion he was sure would be on his face. Hating that he could disgust Roxas so much with something that felt so...sweet. So warm and right. That made him so happy. I wasn't wrong, It _wasn't!_

"That hasn't changed you know", he said suddenly, challengingly. "I'm still with him. I still love him." Pause. "And we're both still men. That's still the same."

"I know. And I'm still against it." Sora blinked, seeming taken aback by the seriousness of his brother's voice. The flat honesty. Taking a deep breath in, letting it out through his nose, Roxas continued. "But it's your house and...his..." The word came out sounding as bitter as it tasted. "And I'm the one here...asking you for a favor. I won't say anything..._bad_."

"Roxas..." Sora ventured again, the challenging aspect gone. "I don't...I don't get what you're asking.. . I mean...You just show up out of the blue after five years and say you got screwed over. Fine but...what...What do you want from me?"

"I...I need a place to stay. Just for a little while...just until I get a job. I mean...I dunno when that'll be...or what even...I've been pretty much black listed from my old career field..." Sighing , Roxas rubbed his hand over his face once more. "Look...Sora. I know you have absolutely no reason to help me...but... "

Truth be told, he could probably make it for one night in a cheap hotel, Traverse Town wasn't extremely expensive. Not like the islands. But it as still only one day. Just one, before he'd be right back here, where he's started.

Sora frowned, watching Roxas scrub his hands over his face- a nervous gesture he'd had forever, hit with a viscous wave of nostalgia. A wave of both longing and indecision- The cresting of the wave of emotion he'd been riding since first opening the door. He wanted to yell and scream that Roxas couldn't stay here, in his house, with him and his boyfriend. That he couldn't intrude upon their happy life, glaring and judging and making him feel as if he was doing something bad. The other part wanted to cry and beg him not to do that anymore, to ask him why he didn't love him. And the last part just wanted to hug him, to tell him of course he could stay here. He belonged here with him, and that he'd do anything to help.

What happened, wasn't any of that really. He didn't yell or cry or smile or hug, never so much as mentioned words of love because really his emotions were too unstable for that anyways. Instead he just took a deep breath, and nodded.

"You can stay, for a while anyways. I'll talk to...Riku...about it. It'll be fine just, go get your suitcase. There's an extra room upstairs...Um...that way." He pointed. Nodding his thanks, Roxas turned, heading towards the door to where his car lay. Sora didn't move, leaning back against the counter. His head was down, but he watched Roxas leave from under his bangs. He looked so much taller now, than the boy who walked away five years ago, but the sight still filled him with a painful sense of dejavu.

"Roxas." He called. Stopping in the doorway, Roxas turned. Sora was still in that same position, hair covering his eyes, and Roxas couldn't help but think that he looked tired. "It was...good...to see you again."

Roxas nodded, before continuing on to his car.

* * *

As soon as Roxas was out of sight, Sora sighed, his entire body almost collapsing under the weight of unsuppressed emotions. His hands were shaking. Dragging an unsteady hand roughly through his hair, he practically pulled his head back, before turning and heading into the living room.

"Rik-"

"So...Wanna fill me in?"

Sora jumped a little in surprise. Riku, as it turns out, hadn't gone backt o watch TV like a good little boy. Instead, he'd chosen to lean casually against the wall, suspiciously close to the door frame, where he could no doubt hear everything.

Sora nodded, before suddenly throwing himself at the other boy, burrying his face in the crook of his neck and just letting himself be held. Practically demanding that it was so. Not that Riku put up any resistance, mind you. Sora let out one last shaky sigh.

"Roxas is...he's having some trouble...It's really bad and...He's needs somewhere to stay, for just a little while...and-"

"No."

"Riku!" Sora pulled back, his face distraught, eyes pleading.

"I don't want him here! I hate the bastard!"

"He's not a..." It sucked, when you couldn't exactly defend your own brother... "He was nice today. Nice enough anyways and... And where else is he supposed to go? I'm the only family he has left."

"You were his only family then too, but that didn't seem to mean to him now did it?"

"Well, I already told him he could stay."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I love him okay!"

Sora's lip was trembling, eyes wide and getting that glassy look. He sniffed, fighting to hold back his tears. He couldn't cry, not now. He had nowhere near the time it would take to clean himself up, before Roxas would be back from the car. Hell, he could be in the kitchen right now.

"Because even though he's a total bastard he's still my brother and...Maybe that doesn't mean much to him but it does to me and...And I used to think it did. Matter to him I mean and...he always acted like it did. He used to be really great you know and I guess...I guess I want that back."

"Sor-"

"And if he's here and he's not yelling or anything than it's like, maybe I have a chance...Maybe I can get my brother back. Because I miss him and-"

He was cut off as Riku pulled him back tight agaist him, resting his chin in his hair. He sighed, his breath ruffling the soft, brown strands.

"You guys are the dictionary defenition of dysfunctional."

"True" Sora nodded, nuzzling his face firther into Riku's chest, savoring the feeling of those warm, strong arms around him. Holding him up for a few minutes so that he didn't have to. "But he's back. After all these years, he's here now."

"Because he wants something."

Sora stilled as the truth somewhat killed his happiness. It was just a bit though, because I wasn't like Riku was telling him some big secret. This wasn't a reunion born of lonliness and regret, he didn't come here because he missed him. He didn't even come back to be friends. It was just because he needed a place to stay, and there was a very good chance that he'd disappear again once his life was in order. Disappear and ignore Sora for another five years, or ten, or twenty. Go off and live his life surrounded by people who didn't disgust him...

"I know."

"Doesn't he have friends? He can't possibly be that anti-"

"I don't know. How would I know that."

"...Sorry..."

"So?"

"So", Riku gave a long suffering sigh. "So I guess he's staying."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Sora replied, smiling, the first real smile Riku had seen since that morning. It had started off such a nice morning, too... They'd fallen asleep on the couch the night before, the TV rolling the credits of some movie they'd seen a million times, their limbs all entangled as they curled together under a blanket, all happy and warm. They'd woken that way too, and that had proved to be just as good. And then the doorbell had rang...

The memory of that morning was enough to make Riku smile too, but he cut it off sharply, his face taking on a more warning expression.

"But I swear to God, if he hurts you again, says or does even one little thing-"

"I know." Sora replied. "I love you too."

Reaching up, he pressed a quick kiss against his boyfriend's lips, eager to get at least one in before Roxas returned. Somehow, he swore, he'd find a way to prove to Roxas that this wasn't a bad thing. The way it felt when Riku kissed him back...there was no way it could be.

* * *

** Okay guys, so I'm a little unsure about this fic. So you've gotta tell me...is it any good? I've gotta say, this is the first fic I've ever written where we weren't at least introduced to the two main characters I the first chapter. So no Axel yet. But don't worry! We'll all see our favorite redhead in the next chapter. Promise. Which is better than some fics I've read. **

** Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this! It was actually pretty fun to write...even if the content isn't exactly...cheery. How many of you hate Roxas now? If not, cool. If you do, cool :) My writing's good enough to make you hate him. I know after that flashback I really hated him. But alas, there is hope for young Roxas as our story progresses.**

** I know I made a friend of mine hate him in another fic of mine, **_Of Silence and Skittles_**. It's my Zemyx fic :) I'm almost done with chapter two of that so expect an upate there very soon.**

** Um so...That's all I've gotta say so... Bye bye! Thanks for reading!**

** _Redfaerie**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I didn't get a ton of feedback from the first chapter. But I got enough to inspire me to write another chapter! Here's hoping this chapter gets more love! Oh well, it usually takes a few chaps for my fics to get attention anyways. So...here's for the few people who like this fic!

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**Chapter 2**

It was so incredibly awkward to slip through the kitchen, quiet as a mouse, pretending that he hadn't just glimpsed his brother kissing another man. He hadn't seen them exactly, they were in the other room, but the TV was casting the flickering shadow of them against the wall; Two shadows far too close for casual conversation, the thin lines of fingers entwined in the long shadow of hair. Even worse, was biting his lip, forcing down the rising disgust and keeping quiet. Keeping his promise to Sora, even though ever fiber of his screamed for him to rush in there and tear the two of them apart. Tear that bastard's filthy hands away from his brother; Those hands that had single handedly smeared corruption all over him, turned him away from what he knew was right.

His hands clenched in tight fists around the plastic handle of his only suitcase, so tight he feared it might crack, he forced his feet to hurry him into the hallway and upstairs, away from the couple below. He didn't know which room was his, but if he watched those shadows meld any longer he wasn't sure what he would do.

Or rather, he was, and simply couldn't afford it.

And to think, he'd thought, for just a moment, that this was easier than anticipated. Sora hadn't shunned him, had invited him into his home and allowed him to stay. They'd even briefly discussed the matter of Sora's sexuality, him having lain his disapproval right there on the table, and still things had gone smoothly, if not somewhat awkwardly. Even watching Riku touch Sora, run his hand down his arm, kiss his face, hadn't affected him like this. That was just Riku being the arrogant, hotheaded, asshole that he was; It had been so easy to hate him. But seeing Sora as an active participant in such debauchery... That had really done it; Brought it all roaring back. The revulsion, the anger, and most of all the betrayal.

After all these years, it still hurt just as much as before.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, forcing the bitter feelings down. They would do him no good, not now. No, he had better things he could be doing, like finding his room for example. Opening his eyes, he looked down the hallway. Though it wasn't long, there were several doors to both his left and right; Simple wooden doors that looked homey against the pale yellow of the walls. There were pictures hung casually at different heights, some straight and some tilted a bit- He noticed that it was mostly the lower ones that were crooked. But it wasn't the pictures themselves that bothered him so much as the images they contained.

Some were of Sora - Smiling all wide and goofy in front of different places: at a park of some sort, in front of a train, in what he assumed was some room on the house holding a paint roller, blue paint smeared into his hair and speckling his coveralls- some of Riku- His long hair pulled back in a pony tail watching the sunset over the beach, his eyes narrowed as he struggled to assemble some sort of furniture, apparently with little success- which he didn't care for, and a few of people he didn't recognize, several with bright red hair- What the hell kinds of friends had Sora gone off and made?

What what hit him the most, like a punch to the gut, was the one of their parents. He had pictures of them, several of them in an album buried beneath his clothes in the very suitcase he now carried. But there was something about seeing their image blown up and framed. His mothers eyes, small blue dots in his copies, were large and clear, staring up at him from behind the glass. Her face was as beautiful as ever, he cheeks rosy, her lips painted dark red and pulled up in a dazzling smile. Her teeth were slightly crooked and a little yellowed from years of coffee addiction, but she was still, hands down, the most beautiful woman Roxas had ever seen. Beside her stood a tall man, proud, with wide shoulders and dark hair flopping lazily over his eyes. He had an arm around his wife, his fingers toying with her honey blonde waves as they rested on her shoulder, his eyes warm and brown and steady. And between them was the mix of them both. Two young boys around the age of three, one with brown hair and one with blonde, each one smiling widely into the camera with giant blue eyes. A testament to the love the two adults had shared. Roxas was sitting on his father's knee, the man's arm around his son protectively as the child clung with both hands to his thumb, while Sora was snugging up against their mother. She was cuddling him with both arms, his head laying adoringly against her shoulder.

Looking at the photo, Roxas couldn't fight the sting that appeared behind his eyes. The sudden, intense, stab of loss, born from the memory of a happy time. When there was a mother and a father and a brother, the people that he loved more than life itself. And they were all so happy and carefree, never believing for a second that anything could tear that happiness apart.

Unable to stare at it any longer- The image burning his eyes like the sun- he tore his gaze away, moved it down, and could only stare. Because there, in lack and white, for all the world to see, was Sora and Riku kissing. It wasn't anything deep; lips together, eyes closed, each obviously smiling, like one that you'd take in a photo booth at the mall.

And once again, Roxas felt his stomach churn with uncontrollable anger. He'd seen their shadows kiss, but this was somehow worse, not because he could see their faces but because it was hing so close to his parents. Because his parents would roll over in their graves if they knew. His father's face would tense, the lines around his eyes and mouth becoming prominent and he restrained his own emotion, instead seeing to his wife. And his _mother_. He could see her now, her eyes wide and wet, lip quivering as she wondered where she went wrong, questioned their parenting.

And that was something that Roxas simply could not stand. His parents had been amazing, the best in the world, and he simply refused to let them or anyone else think otherwise. It didn't matter that they were no longer around to witness it for themselves, there were others who were; Their friends, their family. And that Sora would rub this in their face this way...

Grabbing the kissing picture, he yanked it from the wall, turning it around before slamming it harshly back into place, the picture sufficiently hidden behind the back of the frame. Glass fell silently into the carpet from the force of his actions, but he couldn't bring himself to care, and with one last look at the family they had once been, he stormed into the nearest one he could find hoping that it was his.

* * *

The Sinclair house had never been a place that anyone would consider ordinary, probably because the word itself was in direct contrast with the people who lived there. It was for that reason that Axel Sinclair found the sight before him less odd than others would...But it was still kind of weird...

Fresh out of the shower he was shirtless, pajama pants slung low on his hips – Black, dotted with flaming chilli peppers, the words TOO HOT TO HANDLE repeating across the waistband.- a towel slung around his neck. His long red hair, usually poking up in unruly spikes, was limp and straight, hanging in a shiny red curtain around his shoulders. Leaning against the door-frame, he just stared into the living room.

His older brother Reno was hanging upside down on the couch, playing God Of War on the PS3, his eyes narrowed in concentration, tongue sticking out one corner of his mouth. His legs were kicking against the back of the couch as he played. All in all he looked more like an irresponsible little boy that the oldest of the siblings and the owner of the house they resided in. What was weirder though, was the way he was murmuring to the screen, little things like, " Ooh! In yo' face", and "Yeah, I shanked you bitch. So what?"

Oblivious to Reno's epic battle was their younger sister Kairi, who was currently flattening herself against the living room window, her nose smudging up the glass, not blinking. And that, Axel decided, was far creepier than Reno and his video-game addiction.

"Kairi...what the fuck are you doing?" When there was no response, he turned to Reno. "What the fuck is she doing?"

"Hell if I know," Reno shrugged, his voice somewhat distracted. "But she's been doing it for like, twenty minutes now..." His voice trailed off as he began rapidly pounding away at the circle button. "SWEET! HA! TAKE THAT!"

Sighing, he shook his head, returning his attention to his sister. "Kai-"

"There's someone outside." She replied suddenly, effectively cutting him off, He arched a brow, waiting for more, but she didn't continue, never moving her eyes from the window.

"I hate to break it to you Kai, but there are other people in this neighborhood, and sometimes they like to venture outdoors."

That comment earned him an eye roll.

"Well no duh. It's not that. It's just, he's in front of Sora's house. I saw him go in earlier..."

"So what?" Reno asked, pulling himself up so that he was sitting on the back of the couch, facing away from the TV. At another, less distracting, time Axel might have envied the strength and definition of his brother's abs that allowed him to move that way so effortlessly, strength his own skin-and-bones stomach was sorely lacking. Now, however, he was too busy trying to discern his crazy sister's antics. "They're allowed to have company you know."

"I know but-"

"You're being seriously freaky Kai," Axel interjected, crossing the room to flop across the sofa cushions. "And get away from the window. You're leaving smudge marks."

"Am not!"

"Are too. And no one ever cleans those windows so cut it out. We're going to look grimey."

"Grimey?"

"Yes. Grimey. Groedy. Like so totally eeew."

"You are such a dork," she groaned, rolling her eyes, but she couldn't fight the grin twitching at the corner of her lips.

"I know I am, but what are you!" he shot back, green eyes glimmering triumphantly for a moment, before... "Wait-"

"Way to prove her point." Reno chuckled, swinging his legs back and forth against the back of the couch and letting his laughter swirl into his sister's. The two of them were busy laughing at Axel's expense, amidst their brother's attempts at defending himself, when suddenly Kairi stopped, perking up.

"He's back!" She exclaimed, darting to the window, though admittedly making a conscious effort to keep her nose off the already smudgy surface. Axel was, though with questionable vocabulary, right- The window was "grimey."

She looked back at her brothers expectantly, frowning when she realized that rather than following her, sharing in her excitement, they were both still planted in their seats on the couch, staring at her blankly. Reno even had the nerve to blink...Traitor. Hadn't he been laughing with her just a second ago?

"Would you just get over here?"

"What? Why?"

"Because he-" She blinked in shock as her eyes turned back to the new guy. "He's got a suitcase..."

"What?" His interest finally piqued, Axel hauled himself up, striding over to look over Kairi's shoulder...and froze...

Because there, across the street, stood perhaps the most beautiful boy that Axel had ever seen...And that was saying something. Good looking people were always waltzing into the bar he worked at, hell, he liked across the street from freaking _Riku_. Between his glass-green eyes and shining, silver, hair, you'd be hard pressed to find a more attractive man than his neighbor, but even he had never elicited such a reaction in Axel; Made his breath catch, his heart skip a beat.

He couldn't see the boy exceptionally well from that distance, but even so, he could tell that he was on the shorter side, with large eyes. He couldn't tell the color, but they were big. His hair was messy, in little spikes that shone and glittered a shimmery gold, like crystallized sunlight, and Axel found himself wanting to touch it, his fingers twitching at his sides. Would it be soft, he wondered? Natural? Or was it hard and crunchy, glued in place with gels and sprays. He hoped it was the first one, probably more intensely than was really logical at this point, but he couldn't help it.

His eyes dropped to the suitcase in his hand, the one he placed on the ground beside him as he leaned into his car to do something, before emerging once again and slamming the door shut. Pressing a button on his keys, the lights flashed as he locked it up, a nifty feature that Axel's car was sadly lacking, before he grabbed his suitcase once more and turned, heading towards the house. And then he was gone, the door closing and blocking him from view. Blinking, Axel felt his senses return to him, caught the tail end of something Kairi had been saying.

"-know him?"

He blinked again, shaking his head clear. "Um...what?"

Kairi sighed. "I _said_, I've never seen him around here before. Who do you think he could be? Do you know him?"

No, he didn't. But he wanted to.

"Well, he had luggage didn't he?"Reno piped up, "Maybe they were looking for a roommate or something."

At this Axel just snorted. "Pfft. Roommate? Are you crazy?That would totally interfere with their spontaneous table sex."

Kairi's eyebrows shot up before her face contorted into a look of disgust. "Ew. You do know that Sora's my friend, right?"

"Well duh," Reno commented, "They're our friends too."

"So that's just it!"

"What? So?"

"So I don't wanna hear about my friends having sex!"

Both boys just blinked, and meeting each other's eyes they shared a disbelieving look.

"What the hell kind of college student are you?"

"She's a _prude_" Reno teased, his mouth curling up, eyes glittering with mirth. "I bet your closet is just full of conservative little plaid skirts."

"With matching sweater vests", Axel grinned, poking her in the arm. "Are we right? Are we?"

"You guys suck!"

"No, no, no" Reno corrected, holding up his hands. "You're a little confused baby sister." He moved one finger to point at Axel. "_He _sucks. _I_ however, am not into that."

"Ew!" She cried, jumping to her feet. "Ew! Ew! Ew!" She was jumping in place, hands waving frantically, as if trying to clear away the image. "Ew!"

"Hey!" Axel exclaimed in fake indignation. "I thought you were supportive of my alternative lifestyle."

"I can support it without imagining it." She cringed. "Seriously, I don't wanna think about my _friend's_ sex lives and you...you're my brother...Ew!"

"Well if _that's _all..." Axel replied, a mischievous grin stretching from ear to ear. He was about to continue, his eyes glinting with a comment that was sure to make Kairi screech again, when she beat him too it.

"So what are we going to do about that guy?"

Reno blinked. "What do you mean? Why the hell do we have to do anything?"

"Because...because..."

Under normal circumstances, Axel probably would have sided with Reno on this one- He was the one making sense after all. He wasn't glaring or waving his arms or getting all worked up as Kairi had a tendency to do. Unfortunately, his laid-back ideals weren't going to help Axel at all.

A new goal had just arisen in Axel's life: He had to meet the boy from across the street. Suddenly, it was the most important task in his entire repertoire, and he'd do anything to see to it that that goal was met. Even side with his somewhat spazzy baby sister.

"Because they're our friends." He replied, speaking up above Kairi's sputtered excuses. "Sora and Riku that is. And besides, it's only neighborly."

Kairi blinked while Reno fixed his gaze on his brother. "Axel, what exactly are you talking about?"

"Why, when we go introduce ourselves over dinner of course." He grinned widely, his teeth glimmering in the window's light. "After all, it's only polite."

* * *

**Alright, so I'm sorry if this chapter is a little short, and not as good as the first one, but I've been having writer's block lately...On EVERYTHING. But I really did try. Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to **_Shiksa_**, who promised to finish (Or at least update) **_The Kid's Got Spunk (All Over His Face.) _**if I did. Anyways, it took me a while, but here is the nice, shiny, update, just for you. So I'm going to be waiting for you're end of the bargain now :p**

** Thank You everyone for reading and sticking with me through my writers block and stuff. I hope you will continue to do so until this fic is finished. I hope you enjoyed this update!**

** Reviews make Redfaerie happy!**

** _Redfaerie :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thanks for the feedback on that last chapter! I'm glad you guys liked Axel's introduction into this story. And now I give you the long awaited introduction! ****Anyways, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to **_Shiksa_**, because without her urging and constant complements I might never have worked through my cursed writer's block.

* * *

**

**Chapter 3**

_Roxas blinked, stunned, unable to do little else but stare. Before him stood Xion, as perfectly beautiful as ever. Her small form was poured into a snug black sweater, leading down into a swishy lavender skirt that swayed an inch or so above her knees. It matched her eyes perfectly; Xion liked to match. She was the kind of girl who had perfectly coordinated sweater sets to wear over her matching bra and panties, something Roxas had always found ridiculously sexy_

_ Her hair was black as pitch, shining in the fluorescent lights of his office and hanging just below her ears. Her bangs cut sideways across her forehead in a style that looked both carelessly mussed and painstakingly styled. Her eyebrows were thin, the same dark shade as her hair, arching elegantly over large, violet, eyes. Heavy-lidded and framed by a million sooty lashes they were by far Roxas's favorite feature, the one that mesmerized him the most. He could appreciate her generous breasts and well shaped ass, treasure the feel of his hands spanning her tiny waist, but he could get lost in her eyes. They intoxicated him like nothing else._

_ At the moment however, they were cold, like purple ice, shielded from any emotion whatsoever. It was if they were scotch guarded, repelling away everything that Roxas had once loved about them. Repelling away Roxas's obvious love for her. She blinded from everything, his shock, his hurt, the utter destruction she was wreaking as the words continued to fall from her pretty, perfect, rosebud, lips. _

_ They poured from her lips like rancid honey as she explained what she'd done. Why Roxas's cards had been rejected, how he didn't have a cent. How everything he'd worked so hard for, the empire he'd built, had been stolen from him bit by bit but he two people he'd trusted most. And when she was finished, Roxas could say nothing but, "Why?"_

_ Her tone calm, unaffected, she simply shrugged her tiny shoulders and replied, "You don't have it Roxas, that killer instinct. You've done extraordinarily well for yourself, but this was all you were ever going to have. All I, as your fiance, was ever going to have, and I'm sorry Roxas, but I need more. And with Xemnas I can get it." Moving from where she had been perched on his desk, she slid to the floor, her long legs carrying her across the room to where Xemnas stood. _

_ Roxas had met Xemnas several years ago, had thought they were friends. It was hard to make real, true, friends when money was such an issue, but with Xemnas he'd thought he'd be alright. With each of them owning half of the company he'd foolishly believed that that put them on equal terms. Now, watching him kiss the woman that still wore Roxas's ring, he realized how very wrong he was. The business world was a corrupt place, and Xemnas was no different from anyone else; Out for money and power, stepping on whoever dared to block their path. _

_ Turning back to him, her lips slightly flushed, tucked neatly under Xemnas's arm, she continued. "You're a sweet guy Roxas, but let's face it. You're just not cut out for the business world."_

_ "Fine" Roxas replied, trying to inject venom into his words but coming up short. Instead, he just sounded dead. "So you're a greedy bitch out to get yours. Good for you. But why the smear campaign. You got your money, why the fuck did you have to destroy me in the process?"_

_ "It's simple really," Xemnas smiled, his cool, cultured, voice once warm and familiar now grating on Roxas's ears. "When something is stolen, the first thing the victim does, even before plotting revenge, is try to figure a way to regain what was lost. And while I regret resorting to something as petty as demolishing your reputation, I'm afraid it was a necessary counter-measure. No one will believe your accusations against us, you have no credibility anymore, nor do you have the means to build yourself up again and buy everything all back. No, Organization 13 is completely under my sole ownership, and there is not a person in the world that can take it away from me."_

_ "I'm sorry Roxas." Xion commented, "But that's that killer instinct I mentioned. You can't help that you don't have it." Slipping out from Xemnas's hold she approached the blonde. Gently, she slid the ring from her finger, placing it in Roxas's hand before curling his fingers around it, smiling her frosty smile and patting his hand condescendingly "For what it's worth, the sex was great."_

_ And with those parting words, she returned to her new lover, the two of them walking out the door, carrying along Roxas's whole world in their deceitful, greedy, pockets. _

_ And stunned, he watched them go.

* * *

_

Opening his eyes, Roxas blinked groggily into the dim light. There was a hazy, confused, moment of disorientation in which Xion's ice cold eyes were the only things clear to him, as if burned there on the back of his eyes. Blinking forcefully, he shook the image away, choosing to instead look around the room in hopes of recognizing something. Of calling back his elusive memories.

They weren't, as it turned out, so elusive after all, returning faithfully when called upon. Whether this was a blessing or a curse however was up for debate. Personally, Roxas was leaning heavily towards the latter. For with their return came all the accompanying conflict. His anger and confusion and everything else that churned restlessly inside of him, it's combined force as overwhelming as before. Groaning, he gripped the pillow beneath him at the corners before rolling over, dragging it with him so that it lay over his head while he buried his face into the cold spot beneath. Lying there, face down on the bed, he took as deep a breath as he could through the mattress and sighed, suppressing a sardonic grin at the dejavu... Just how many times, he wondered, would he find himself suffocating his emotions into this bed?

The light in the room was dim now, orange streaks of sunset shining in through the open curtains as it sunk behind the houses and hills visible through the window. It'd been hours since he'd first stormed in, slamming the door shut behind him and throwing his suitcase haphazardly on the floor. The sun had been high then, streaming in cheerily, lighting up the whole room, but he hadn't noticed. He had, in his anger, seen nothing but an empty room, a secluded place to vent his frustrations and a neatly made bed in which to do so. And so throwing himself down he'd all but suffocated himself in the soft, cream, comforter, breathing deeply in an attempt to quell his rage.

Lifting his head, he peered out from beneath the pillow and rolled over once more, this time holding the pillow to his chest. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine pounding behind his eyes, quite possibly stress-induced, although between the setting sun and the rumbling in his stomach, hunger was probably a pretty likely candidate.

As if on cue, a hesitant knock sounded from the door, and after a few seconds Sora poked his head through.

"Oh. You're awake."

His voice was soft, as hesitant as his knock as he opened the door fully. He didn't enter though, just stood there in the doorway, as if the room really was Roxas's. He shuffled his feet a little at the threshold in the ensuing silence, until finally Roxas nodded his agreement, moving a bit so that he was sitting, leaning back on his hands, the pillow still in his lap. He watched Sora eye is, his blue gaze drifting down to the suitcase, and then traveling over the floor, out the window. What he was looking for Roxas didn't know, but whatever it was he didn't seem to find it. Instead he just nibbled his lips a bit, his eye's returning to Roxas's for a moment before deciding that the window was a nice place to look.

"Um…so, I see you've found your room." He gestured his hands around the room in a half-hearted little display before returning them nervously to his sides. "Um…so yeah. Just make yourself at home. That dresser over there is empty, mostly. Except for the top drawer…. But you can use all the rest… Um…" He shuffled a bit more staring at the dresser. The closet. Anything but Roxas. When he said nothing else, just rocked back a little on his heels, Roxas figured it was time to speak.

"Ok. Thanks. For like…all of this…"

Sora nodded. "Uh-huh." There were a few more minutes of him quietly rocking before he spoke again. "Oh! Um…Riku… Um…" He paused, still watching for signs that Riku's name was taboo. Roxas stiffened a bit, but said nothing, which was good enough for Sora. "He um…he made dinner tonight .Stir fry. Homemade. No mushrooms though!" he added quickly. "I know…I know you don't like them so…" He let his voice just trail off before hesitantly looking back towards Roxas, gauging his reaction. He wasn't sure what he was expecting exactly, but when he just nodded he felt his heart fall a little, surprised to find that his hopes had risen. Taking a deep breath he finished delivering his message, "It should be done in a few minutes so just… You know… Come downstairs if you want. If you're hungry."

"Alright, thanks."

And with another nervous nod, Sora was gone. Alone once more, Roxas fell back onto the bed, and groaned.

* * *

Somehow Sora managed to maintain some semblance of composure while he was speaking, managed to calmly step back and close the door when he was finished. And it was only after that door was closed, when he was blocked from view, that he allowed himself to crumble. The second that door was closed he leaned back against it, hands pressed against the wood, behind his back, looked up towards the ceiling and closing his eyes, sighed. It was like he could feel himself deflating, his shoulder sagging, all his tense muscles relaxing, quite possible trying to flee.

That had been hard, harder than he'd expected. Harder than it was really supposed to be. He'd told himself that it wasn't a big deal, that he could just walk on in there, welcome him to his room and tell him that dinner would be done soon. So what if the message was delivered several hours late? What did it matter why that was so?

But though he told himself it didn't matter, he still felt his eyes drifting across the wall, to the blank spot beneath the family portrait…

_It was hard to pull back when all Sora really wanted was to stay there in Riku's arms. To pull him back to the couch and stream a movie from Netflix that neither one would be watching. But he did, eventually, manage to; returning to the kitchen and leaving Riku to watch whatever he wanted by himself. _

_ The kitchen, however, was suspiciously void of Roxas. The front door was closed and through the kitchen window he could see that Roxas's fancy car was looking very out of place on his front curb, but it was doing so alone. Barring a sudden kidnapping, Roxas must have gone inside on his own._

_ Sora's stomach sank as he wondered just when it was that Roxas had returned. Why hadn't he come find him? Had he tried? Had he seem him them kissing? No…no, he couldn't have. Surely he would of said something if he had. Perhaps in very high, angry, decibels, but he'd have said it nonetheless. _

_ Even though it was silly, he found himself turning to look around the kitchen, as if Roxas was just standing in a corner or something, patiently waiting for him and Riku to finish so he could show him to his room. Unsurprisingly, his brother did not miraculously emerge from behind the refrigerator or anything, and so when Riku walked in a few seconds later, concerned by the silence, all he saw was his boyfriend turning in circles in place. Blinking, he leaned back against the wall, arms folded while he watched. _

"_What the hell are you doing?"_

_ Jumping, Sora spun around once more, staring wide-eyed up at Riku. "Nothing!"_

_ Riku just arched a brow, his lips pulling up into that smirk that Sora found so irresistible._

_ "Okay…fine…So I was looking for Roxas…"_

_Riku stared blankly at Sora for a moment before moving his head first to the left, then the right._

"_He's not here."_

"_I know that!"_

"_Yeah." Riku grinned. "And I'm sure you were just holding a memorial service for that fish you used to have. Reenacting the way it swirled 'round and 'round…"_

"_Shut up!" Sora squealed, leaping at Riku, pounding his fist into his shoulder. "Go away! Go back to the living room! I've gotta go find my brother!"_

_Frantically Sora proceeded to try and shove Riku back into the living room. _

"_What? You lost him?"_

"_No! He's probably around…"_

"_You know, this is why you can't have a puppy."_

"_But-"_

"_In fact, this is probably why your fish-"_

"_Would you just shut up! I've gotta-"_

_What is was that Sora had to do, however, was cut off by a loud noise from upstairs, a sharp banging sound that echoed just a bit through the house. Their argument forgotten, they both turned towards the stairs, quiet, as if waiting for more. When nothing else sounded, Sora just heaved a sigh._

"_So…I guess I found Roxas."_

_Narrowing his eyes, Riku turned, laying a hand on Sora's shoulder. "You want me to handle it?"_

_The playful tone from before was gone, replaced with the hard, serious one. The tone he'd seemed to hone specifically for Roxas. _

_ "No…" Sora replied, shaking his head. "No, I got this." When Riku's expression stayed the same, he forced a smile, something he hoped looked reassuring but knew probably didn't. _

_ Riku frowned, displeased, he'd have liked to go up there and handle things his own way. He wasn't sure which room Roxas had wandered into, but they all had windows and were a floor up. Give him five minutes alone with Roxas and the boy would be nothing more than a blood smear on the pavement below. He'd never hurt Sora again. _

_ But he managed to restrain his homicidal urges, nodding and forcing himself to let Sora go. But his hands were clenched into fists, nails biting painfully into his palm as he watched Sora walk up the stairs alone. _

_ Sora could feel Riku's eyes on his back, following him until he was out of view, and it was only once he could no longer feel that gaze that he allowed his face to drop. Pausing he took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever he may find at the top. Roxas was…_

_ He couldn't finish that sentence, and that did nothing to sooth his nerves._

_ He didn't see anything at first, just an empty hallway. His mouth pursing in confusion he looked around the room, looked for something that might have been hit or thrown. When he found nothing, he was left to conclude that Roxas had probably just slammed a door. But why? Was Roxas angry, and if so over what? What now?_

_ Biting his lip, Sora wondered yet again if Roxas had seen them. He'd tried to be quick, sneaking in affection, needing it desperately if he was to continue acting strong, but maybe he'd failed. Maybe Roxas had seen and decided it wasn't worth it. He knew he disapproved and God…if he'd seen…_

_ God…he hated this…_

_ Telling himself that maybe there was an open widow, that maybe the wind had caught the door, or Roxas's hands had been full so he kicked it, he walked towards the guest room. Maybe Roxas's hands had been full and he'd had to kick the door. What if that was all, if he was overreacting? _

_ He'd almost had himself convinced when, almost at the door, he stopped short, a sharp pain shooting through his foot. With a small yelp he pulled the appendage up for examination finding it leaking a small drop of blood, punctured by a small shard of glass. Frowning he looked down at the carpet, shocked at the glass he saw glinting there. But where-_

_ And then he saw the picture. Or, well, the back of it. The damage done that had been done. Physical proof of his brother's disapproval. And even though it was stupid, even though it wasn't anything he didn't already know, each piece of glass seemed to stab him right in his heart._

_ Disheartened, he took the picture from the wall, wondering where he could put it in his room, out of Roxas's sight. Hurt by the fact that he even had to do so._

_But first, picture in tow, he hopped into the bathroom, seeking out the tweezers and fighting off another onslaught of tears, wondering how many he would shed before this was all over._

With a sigh, he shook the memory away the best he could and instead turned his thoughts towards tonight's dinner. He'd had quite a time convincing Riku to leave the mushrooms out of the stir fry, especially when the two of them loved them and it was for_ Roxas_ that the sacrifice was being made. Riku would do anything for Sora, but Roxas was another story.

Nibbling his lip, Sora started towards the kitchen, a sense of dread settling in his stomach. He'd wanted Roxas here, he still did, but it was growing more and more obvious by the second that things weren't going to be easy. Rather, they were going to the stressed, tense, awkward, and probably overtly hostile. Sora could only hope that they would, eventually improve, refusing to allow his hopes to die. Not after the first night.

Instead, he refocused them, narrowing them down to just hoping that dinner went well. It would be the first meal he shared with his brother in half a decade.

And despite the dread, fear, and hurt swirling in his heart, there was also a giddy bubble of irrational, slightly hysterical, excitement.

This would be the first meal he shared with Roxas in half a decade. A tiny little part of him, the part that had missed Roxas unconditionally, just couldn't wait.

Allowing his lips to twitch up a little, he slipped into the kitchen, smiling at the sight that met him: Riku, his back to him, facing the stove. His silver hair was pulled back in a ponytail situated in the middle of the back of his head. His bangs were hanging loose around his face. Over the years Sora had repeatedly attempted to pull them back in barrettes or bobbin pins or something, convinced that it would be absolutely adorable. And though Riku rarely denied Sora anything, he'd steadfastly refused to allow him to do so. Adorable was one adjective that he just didn't want to be associated with.

There was, however, an apron tied behind both his neck and his waist, something that had gotten him plenty of grief. Surprisingly enough however, Riku had donned it all on his own. The first time they'd spent the night together, Sora had just woken up, ventured into the kitchen, and there was Riku, flipping pancakes high in the air like a pro and wearing an apron. And sure, Sora had laughed and teased him about it, but in reality it was of those little things he loved about him. Just one of the little quirks that made Riku, Riku.

Leaning against the doorframe, Sora let his tiny, anxious smile grow into a bigger, happy one. Quietly, he watched as Riku took the handle of the wok and flipped all the contents at once, like he was the freaking Iron Chef or something. That thought brought up the image of Riku in one of those big, funny, chef hats, stirring soup like some snooty Frenchman with a little curly, black, mustache. Slapping his hand over his mouth, he tried to conceal his laughter. And failed.

Once the food had all landed back in the wok Riku just turned, smiling when he saw that it was indeed Sora laughing at him.

"What?"

"Oh nothing." Sora replied, smiling innocently and sniffing the air. "Mmm, that smells good."

"It should. It's the same Stir fry I've always made…Well…sorta." He grumbled.

"And it always smells good", Sora smiled, coming up behind Riku, looping his arms around his waist. "Like all your fancy, food network cooking."

"Fancy? It's just stir fry?"

"No it's not. It's amaaaazing stir-" He stopped suddenly as he caught sight of the cutting board. It was the special wooden one he'd gotten Riku for Christmas last year, the one that fit snugly over the entire square of the counter to the left of the stove, slightly stained and nicked from constant use. There was nothing unusual about its appearance, except for the open package of mushrooms sitting on wooden surface. Half the package was missing, one lone mushroom sitting half hidden on the side.

"Riku! I thought-"

"Relax." Riku interrupted, turning and repositioning Sora so that he was instead tucked under his left arm, "I left them out, just the way the _princess_ likes."

Sora frowned at the "princess", jibe, but didn't comment.

"Than what-?"

Gesturing, Riku drew Sora's attention to a small skillet on a back burner where a small serving of mushrooms were sautéing, separate from the rest of the dish. At Sora's confused look, he explained.

"Just because _he_ doesn't like mushrooms is no reason to ruin the food for everyone else. We can just add these in later."

Sora blinked, quiet for a moment, before suddenly shifting between Riku and the oven and throwing his arms around his boyfriend's neck. "Thanks Riku!" He cuddled his face into Riku's neck before continuing, his voice laden with affection rather than exuberance this time. "Really Riku. Thanks a lot. For all of this. I mean…I know you don't like Roxas-"

"There's an understatement." Riku snorted.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, pulling back just enough to smack him in the arm. "I'm thanking you here!"

"Then by all means, please, continue."

Sighing, Sora dropped his forehead against Riku's shoulder.

"God. Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm made of awesome", he replied smugly. Keeping one arm around Sora's waist, he used the other one to give the stir-fry another flip. "And also because I've agreed to be nice to your bigamist, asshole, dickhead, brother. And not throw him out a window."

"Oh yeah. That's nice."

"I didn't say it to his face, did I?"

"But you want to. You would… You're going to aren't you? Riku-"

"Sora, calm down okay." Abandoning the wok , he used both hands to cup Sora's face, holding his face up to look him in the eye. Gently he moved his thumb, stroking it over Sora's cheek. Slowly, he watched as Sora melted under the gesture. "Look, I'm not happy about this, you know that. I don't want him here, and yes, I have fantasized about shoving him off of things. Many things. The roof, out windows, that fucking pedestal he _lives_ on. But I won't. Because for some weird reason you still love this guy. And I love you." Sora melted further at Riku's words. The look in his eyes. "And so I'm going to leave out these fucking mushrooms, and not strangle him with me bare hands, but if I complain about it or call him shit behind his back it's because well, I hate the bastard and you won't let me say it to his face."

Sighing, Sora just shook his head before pulling his boyfriend down for a kiss. It was soft and sweet, one of Riku's hands sliding back to bury itself in Sora's hair, Sora's arm wrapping around the taller boy's neck. And for one, perfect moment there was no Roxas, and no stress, and it didn't matter that the mushroom were cooked separately. All that mattered were the two of them, getting as close to each other as possible, letting their lips convey what words so often messed up. And when it was over, when they each slowly pulled back, their eyes were soft and slightly dazed. Leaning in Riku gave him one more peck, before…

"Okay, I love you, toy love me, love all around. Now scoot."

Sora blinked. "What?"

"It's nicer than saying, 'hey get off me'. But the food's done; I gotta turn the burner off. Put it on plates. All that stuff that makes the whole dining experience more pleasant.

Sora seemed to remember several nights spent in the living room, back when they'd first moved in, in which they'd eaten directly from the wok. Before they'd bought furniture, or dishes, or anything. It had been the two of them, curled up in beanbags, watching DVDs on Riku's laptop, set on an old milk crate that the previous owners had left in the garage. And the wok had sat between them, on an old potholder so as not to hurt their new floor, while the picked from it with chopsticks from the Chinese food they'd ordered the night before. Plates hadn't seemed so drastically necessary then. But still, he proceeded to, "scoot," scooting over to the cabinet now filled with these plates that Riku seemed to love so.

Okay. So maybe it wasn't that big a deal. And Riku had smacked his ass when he'd turned to go. And that was fun. But still…

He was disrupted from his thought by the doorbell, chiming throughout the house…

* * *

Roxas didn't want dinner. Or rather, he didn't want dinner made by _him_. And more importantly, he didn't want to leave this room. Theoretically, he knew he stay up here forever, but that didn't make leaving any more appealing, especially not dragging himself downstairs. He want to go or explore this house, didn't want to stumble upon for evidence of his brother's unholy relationship. Or worse, stumble upon his brother engaged in whatever perverted activities he did with that silver haired bastard.

It had been about five minutes since Sora had left his room after what had been perhaps one of the most awkward conversations in history. He wasn't sure what had happened while he'd been asleep, but Sora had seemed extra….reserved? Nervous? Maybe even…scared. Upset. He wasn't sure what or why exactly but he had to admit, he hadn't liked it. But he couldn't think of a single thing to do other than nod and occasionally give awkward replies.

Years ago, nearly a million it seemed, it would have asked what was wrong. Would have pulled Sora over, sat him down on his bed and refused to let him go until he confessed what was bothering him. He'd have hugged him, done his best to rid him or his worries, chase away his fears, anything. But that was the old Sora. Now, with this new one, all of those actions just seemed wrong, leaving him at a loss for what to do.

He didn't like that either.

And so, reluctant to face Sora again, to risk another moment like that, he found himself hiding upstairs. Sitting on the bed- the incredibly soft bed, he noted- he examined the room. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough to suit his needs, rather average. Unlike most of the house, what he'd seen anyways, the walls were plain white. The bed he was flopped on was in the corner, against the left wall, so that the foot was facing the door. The left wall also claimed a window with window-seat just past the foot of the bed. The right wall had a large closet, with sliding doors, each door a large pane of mirror, reflecting back both the window and Roxas's figure.

On the right side of the door, the one that led into the hall, stood the dresser that Sora had mentioned earlier. It was tall and wooden, facing into the room.

The thing that Roxas found the most interesting, however, were the paintings hung upon every free space of wall available. They were mostly landscapes, varying from rolling hills to fields of wheat, to one hanging above the bed of a majestic waterfall flowing down into a mystical pond. The kind of unreal, sparkling, place where you'd expect faeries to play and unicorns to stop and drink. Where frogs would jump in for a swim and come out with wings. But the important thing was that they were all startlingly beautiful, well-done pieces. Staring at the waterfall painting, he spied a signature at the bottom, but it was loopy and slanted, completely illegible and probably no one he knew anyways. Vaguely though, he wondered when Sora had started collecting art. He couldn't remember him ever having an appreciation for it before. Sure, he'd enjoyed looking at something beautiful, the same as anyone else, but he'd never actively searched it out. And he doubted Riku would have such sophisticated interests.

Fucking fag…

Trying his best to stem his thoughts he stood abruptly, striding over to the window and throwing himself roughly into the seat. The vibrant, yellow, pillows adorning it were surprisingly soft. Feathers or something, but he only gave them a moments though before he saw it…

There, across the street, was the most hideous house Roxas had ever laid his eyes on.

It had the same two-story build as the rest of the houses on the street, but it was painted the most obnoxious, neon, shade of lime green. Even in the dimming light, the damn thing seemed to glow and he wondered how visible it was at night. But it was more than just the horrid paint job. Not one set of curtains in each of the windows seemed to match. Red, black, pink, forest green. The whole house looked like a rainbow and that was just the house itself. Leaning closer to the window he examined the lawn, horrified.

The grass was tall, at least past ankle-legnth and while it didn't yet scream, "Condemned house owned by rednecks!" it did need to be cut. To its credit, the house did have a nice little white porch in the same style as Sora's with stairs and everything, and a charming cobblestone path leading to the street. The effect was somewhat ruined, however, by the multitude of tiny pinwheels lining the walkway, all spinning in the breeze. They had those lights that went along a walkway, the ones shaped like little bell-flowers with sensors so they lit up in the dark, and it was as if they'd crammed every empty space between the lights with multicolored pinwheels.

There was a garden, in front of the porch with various flowers in every color of the rainbow, violet wisteria climbing up the porch and winding its way around the rails up to the gutters and even onto the roof a little. Roxas had nothing against gardens, but this one practically made his eyes burn in an assault of color and was pathetically kept, the plants overgrown. There had been smooth, grey, stones laid down in the absence of plants, but weeds had grown up around them, peeking through the tiny cracks.

But the absolute worst part, the thing that actually frightened him a little, was the garden gnomes. There were millions of them, spread out in no obvious pattern all over the yard. There was a large, shady, tree in the yard, with gnomes peeking out around it. There were some by the walkway, some in the flower garden. There were three in the grass at the very edge of the sidewalk just staring, across the street, as if looking through Sora's kitchen window. Probably hoping for a show or something… creepy voyeur gnomes…

Roxas credited his nerves with him missing the house the first time, quite possibly a blessing considering that if he'd truly noticed that house he probably wouldn't have stopped. As it was he felt the need to close the blinds, close himself off from the creepy house and its creepy army of gnomes. Seriously…those things would haunt his dreams tonight. He was sure of it.

Pulling his curtains closed, he allowed the thought of the gnomes to chase him from his room and out into the hall where he couldn't help but glare at that damn picture. Or at least…he would have. He tried to. But it's rather hard to glare at something that's no longer there. Instead there was just glorious empty space beneath the family portrait. He felt his spirits lift a bit in relief before realizing that pictures don't just move themselves. The glass was all cleaned up and everything, and chances were that if it had been Riku who'd stumbled across it, Roxas would have woken up with the glass in his bed…And quite possibly a horse's head. He wouldn't put it past that bastard. No, at the very least he would have yelled or something. No, it must have been Sora…

Which would explain the weirdness earlier…

Roxas bit back a groan as he connected the dots in his mind, revisiting the look in Sora's eyes. He'd kept his gaze averted, avoided Roxas's eyes for the most part, but he'd looked at him briefly, and though Roxas hadn't said anything, he had seen the emotion there. Emotion he could now recognize as hurt. Unbidden, his mind flashed back to that day five years ago, Sora's eyes wide as he watched Roxas speed away from him and their disaster of a life. The look there was uncomfortably similar to his today… Too similar... Shaking it off, he pulled his gaze from the wall and left it behind.

A trend of his…

* * *

"Um…What are you guys doing here?"

"What, we can't just randomly stop by with no advanced notice and have dinner with you and your super-chef boyfriend?" Axel grinned. "Look: We even brought casserole!"

Sora just blinked up at his neighbor.

"Um bro, I think you broke him."

"And I totally made that casserole! Give it back."

"No way! This is my peace offering!" Sticking his tongue out, Axel took advantage of his superior height, holding the casserole dish up, far out of Kairi's reach, even going so far as to stick his tongue out.

"Give it!"  
"Make your own."

"I did!"

Reno just sighed, biting his lip against the laughter threatening to escape. Kairi was gripping one of Axel's bony shoulders, using it as leverage to jump, trying to reach her casserole. Axel was busy taunting her, while trying to shake off her grip, not bothering to hide his grin.

"C'mon shorty! Jump! Jump for it!"

"I'm sorry," Reno sighed, turning to Sora. "I tried to train them, but really I just don't know where I went wrong."

"Um…yeah…." Sora replied slowly, watching the scene in what Reno realized was wide-eyed horror. "But… you guys have to go."

"Huh?" Axel paused in in his taunting to just stand there both arms straight up, the casserole suspended above his head. "What do you mean?"

It was actually kind of cute, Sora had to admit, watching him stand there like that, looking like hyper little kid. He loved Axel, loved them all really. They were the first friends him and Riku had made after the move and by far the best. They were nice, fun, helpful, just all around awesome, and under any other circumstances they'd be in the house already, digging through the fridge for something to snack on while Riku finished cooking. Tonight however, that just couldn't happen. Because this was his first day with Roxas, their first meal in far too long. Things had to go well. He had to somehow convince Roxas that he wasn't something disgusting to be despised, that Riku wasn't the devil. He had to somehow earn back his brother's love. And while he loved the Sinclair family with all their quirks and eccentrics, he could tell right away that they just weren't a fit for Roxas.

Well…Reno maybe , Roxas might like Reno. And he'd probably like Kairi as well… But Axel… No. There was nothing that Roxas would like about Axel. He was sure of it. Sora could find Axel as adorable as he wanted, but he was positive that Roxas wouldn't see things that way.

"Well…" Sora stammerd nervously, "I…Um…we, we have company and it's their first night here and everything. I just thought that…"

"Oh!" Kairi squealed, "You mean that blonde guy!"

"Huh?" Sora blinked again. "Um…yeah… how..?"

"Kairi spent the better part of the morning glued to the window, totally creeping on the neighborhood." Axel replied quickly, waving off his sister's retaliatory punch like a fly. He had no time for her frustration. He had a mission to fulfill. "So, who was Blondie anyways."

"Oh um…he's my…um…brother. But-"

"Is that who I think it is?" Called Riku from the kitchen.

"You bet your sexy ass it is!" Axel replied joyfully.

"Who else?" Reno added.

Riku's laughter carried through, followed shortly by the man himself.

"Hey guys", he grinned, "Sora, what the hell are you doing? Let them in."

"No, Riku-"

"We made casserole!" Axel exclaimed joyfully, wiggling the dish a little.

"_I _made casserole!" Kairi screeched, exasperated, resuming her jumping. Groaning, Axel balanced the dish in one hand, using the other to grab the top of his sister's head, effectively holding her down. "Dear God", he muttered, "You're worse than a fucking Chiuaua."

"Hey! Axel you asshole!"

"Aw c'mon Sora. They brought food this time. Now let them in before they kill each other."

"But Riku-"

Ignoring Sora's protests, Riku calmly wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, pulling him back against his chest. "Come one in you guys. Axel, Kairi, No bloodstains on the floor 'kay? I just cleaned it like, yesterday."

"Deal" Axel grinned, slipping through the doorway, a furious Kairi in tow. Reno was the last inside just looking up towards the ceiling and sighing in exasperation. But he did politely close the door behind him.

The second that the door clicked shut Sora spun around, grabbing Riku by the apron and dragging him over towards the oven, away from their guests. Lowering his voice, he glanced back at them once before turning back to Riku.

"What did you do that for?"

"What?"

"Invite them in!"

"Because they were on our porch."

"What kind of an excuse is that?"

"What? It's not like their Jehovah's witnesses or something."

"No but… Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Hanging with our friends?"

"Hanging with our friends _tonight_. With Roxas. You can't seriously think that he'll be cool with them? Or well, with Axel mostly…"

"I think, that they're our friends. And that this is our house. And that I left those damned mushrooms out of the stir fry because you gave me fucking puppy eyes. But that I'm not going to let that asshole walk in and take over our life. And I know that you want to try and fix your relationship with him, but if you think I'm going to stand here and watch you bend over backwards for that undeserving piece of-"

"Riku!"

"-Then you're sorely mistaken. You're only supposed to do that in strictly literal terms and only for me. Most certainly not for your _brother_ of all people." He fought back a grin at the blush that spread quickly over Sora's cheeks, his eyes darting over to the others to see if they'd caught that. If they had, they hadn't reacted. A good sign that they probably hadn't. Kairi was still fussing at Axel about something, probably the casserole, while Reno leaned against the wall and watched, chuckling occasionally. Axel was just openly laughing, serving only to infuriate the younger girl.

"Besides Sora", Riku continued, "Overall, this has been a pretty shitty day. I wanna end it with people I actually _like_."

Groaning, Sora's figure slumped, defeated, looking up at Riku with eyes that were almost pitiable. But Riku refused to crack. Leaning down he planted a kiss on Sora's forehead, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Would you relax. It'll be fine. I know your worried, but letting him walk all over you isn't going to make him like you. Not in any healthy way anyways."

Sora wanted to say that he didn't care. That after this long, he'd take any brotherly affection he could get. He'd do anything Roxas asked if only to have him look at him, for just one second, the way he used to. To have him love him again. But he didn't. because he knew that Riku, as annoying as it was, was right.

Still… This just screamed disaster.

"So", Riku called, moving away from Sora. "Do you guys like mushrooms?

"Well duh", Reno replied from his spot against the wall. "We've only eaten here like, what, a million times?"

Axel had, since last sighting, moved to a chair, while Kairi sat perched upon the table. Her and Axel seemed to have settled their differences as she was swinging her legs and scrolling through his ipod. Axel was resting his head in one hand, staring at something nondescript on the wall, his other hand tapping out a random beat against his leg. Despite this, both of them managed to look over to give their approval of the fungus. Riku just smiled, gaining smug satisfaction from having allies on the mushroom front. Even if they hadn't been friends before, by disagreeing with Roxas they'd scored points with Riku.

Therefore, it was quite lucky for Axel that Riku was not in any way psychic, completely incapable of deciphering the redhead's thought. If he could, he'd have seen the way they swirled around the blonde. He'd only spotted him briefly, across the street and through a window, but he'd still been beautiful. He'd been all shiny, like a ball of light, like an angel or something. He hadn't been able to make out the more miniscule details, but now knowing he was Sora's brother, he could imagine. Sora was short, with small bone structure and the biggest, bluest, eyes that Axel had ever seen. Conjuring up the image of Roxas that he'd seen, he sincerely hoped that he too possessed those features.

Would he be shy, he wondered? Outgoing? Feisty? Would it be easy to make him blush, red slowly spreading across his pretty little face? Would he flirt? Play hard to get? Would he melt like butter under Axel's hands the way he'd glimpsed Sora do with Riku? The two tried not to be too nauseating in public, but if they slipped up once or twice, well, who could blame them. Certainly not Axel, as he watched on with envy, trying to tell himself that no, he wasn't being too creepy but that yes, he should probably look away now.

"So," He smiled as Sora approached as well, somehow balancing six empty glasses and a two-liter bottle of Coke in his arms. "Blondie's your brother?"

"Um…yeah…" Sora replied, depositing the glasses onto the table. "His name is Roxas, you should probably call him that…"

"Roxas." Axel repeated slowly, letting it roll around on his tongue, enjoying the feel of it in his mouth.

"Um…yeah." Sora nodded, his eyes narrowed at the way Axel had just purred his brother's name. Catching Riku's eye, he found that he hadn't missed it either.

"Um, Ax…There's something you should-" Riku began, but he was cut off by the voice sounding from the foot of the stairs.

"Who the hell are you people?"

* * *

Roxas froze, suddenly finding five pairs of eyes glued to him. Sora's blue eyes so like his own filled to the brim with worry, Riku's light green instantly cold and narrowed with hatred as he shifted closer to Sora, and then three new eyes. One was an odd shade of green, the kind with a shade of blue mixed in, from the man standing, a medium blue from the large eyed girl on the table, and the most startling was from the last one. The one sitting at the table with perhaps the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. He'd never really understood why people were always so fascinated by his and Sora's eyes, going on and on about how _blue_ they were, but he was starting to understand. It just seemed impossible for anyone else to contain that much green pigment, in a shade that damn vibrant.

Their eyes, however, weren't what distracted him. It was more the whole picture. He'd pried himself from his room, dragged his feet downstairs, only to find three strange people sitting in the kitchen. And not just anyone, oh now, he recognized them as the crazy people from the pictures. The ones with the freakishly red hair. Looking at them now, that wasn't the only thing he'd apply that adjective to.

The girl, he decided, was pretty. Her hair was more of a calmer, subdued, red than the men straight and hanging just past her shoulders. Her eyes encompassed a great portion of her head, but they were nice and so she didn't look like some freak forest creature. She had stopped swinging her legs to turn those big eyes on him, staring like the others. She was in a white tank top and small purple skirt, but she at least kept her legs closed, which was more than he could say for a lot of the girls back in Twilight Town.

Even the man standing wasn't too bad. He was in black pants and a white, button-down, shirt, and at least looked somewhat normal, even if the shirt was wrinkled and his hair- Pulled back in a low pony tail- was fire engine red.

Mostly, Roxas's attention was focused on the man sitting. The one with the incredibly green eyes. He hadn't bothered to mess with his hair, and it was now free and crazy down his back in the same neon shade as his brother's. Well… They were probably brothers. He would hate to think that there was more than one bloodline out there with that hair color. If it was even natural… It couldn't be….Could it? Well, natural or not, it wasn't helped by his shirt: an ordinary cotton T-shirt in vibrant tie-dye. It stood out in sharp contrast to his black jeans, but somewhat matched his neon orange Converse. Roxas however, didn't really care, because beyond his eyes and his crazy hair and his horrible fashion sense, there were triangles. Upside down ones. On each cheek. They were either purple or black, he couldn't tell, but here was one beneath each eye and they looked like…tattoos! On his freaking face! Roxas wasn't sure who the hell this guy was, but he looked like a freak.

A freak who was staring at him very intently. It was Sora, however, who was first to speak.

"Roxas, these are our neighbors the um…the Sinclairs. They um…well… They brought casserole!"

"Um…yeah…" Roxas let his gaze travel over the three newcomers. "Hi."

"Yo!" The standing one greeted, giving Roxas a little salute.

"Hi" the girl greeted, with a smile and a little wave.

Finally came the sitting one. His smile stretched languidly, some emotion present in his eyes that Roxas just couldn't decipher but that he was sure he didn't like. When the redhead spoke, his words were warm and smooth, more purred than spoken, and sent a shiver down Roxas's spine. The bad kind.

"Hiya Blondie."

* * *

So Axel wished it and so had it been. When he'd heard Roxas's voice, turned his head, he had most definitely not been disappointed. Rather, his heart had skipped a beat, his breath suddenly solidifying in his lungs. If he'd though the blonde was gorgeous from across the street he was even more breathtaking in person. He was indeed short and slim, small boned with a golden halo of spikes that looked ridiculously soft. He wanted to know for a fact, to touch them. To feel them give beneath his fingers as he moved his hand around to the back of his head , to draw him closer and cover those perfect, pink, lips with his, To make him sigh, those beautiful, sapphire, eyes fluttering closed in pleasure.

He looked like a kitten, Axel decided. Something cute and soft to cuddle. He looked like he'd like to cuddle. Axel suddenly envisioned him in a giant sweater, cuddling into the redhead's chest while they made S'mores. It was, decidedly, adorable.

And it was then and there, in his best friend's kitchen, that Axel Sinclair fell in love.

* * *

"So, My name's Reno, shorty here is my sister Kairi, and this is my brother Axel." The previously standing redhead, the older one he now knew, introduced, gesturing to each person as he spoke. The six of them had taken a seat around the table. Sora was sitting between Riku and Roxas in his desire to be near both of them. Reno had taken a seat next to Riku while Axel had, much to Roxas's displeasure, moved over to sit next to him. Kairi had gotten the last seat, between her brothers, quite displeased with the arrangement. She'd wanted to sit beside either Sora, like usual, or the new guy. Perhaps even between them. But no…She'd gotten her big brothers…

"My name is Roxas." He replied stiffly, spearing a baby carrot on his fork and restraining is moan of delight. The stir fry was fucking amazing, but he refused to acknowledge it as such. Not when the person who'd made it was the dick currently glaring at him. The dick who'd taken his brother from him, corrupted him, ruined everything. And he had the nerve to glare? No. He wouldn't be getting compliments on his stupid, heavenly, stir fry.

True to Sora's word though, there weren't any mushrooms. Not in his anyways.

"We know", Kairi replied, swallowing a bite of chicken. "Sora told us."

"Well….they asked…" Sora mumbled, twirling noodled around his fork, topping it off with a stab of chicken and water-chestnut.

Roxas wasn't listening however. He was too busy leaning as far as he could to the left while still sitting properly, sitting on the very left side of his chair. On his right side, Axel wouldn't stop looking at him. He was, in all honesty, freaking him out. Sitting there in his neon colors, staring at Roxas, if he didn't know any better he'd think he was… Frowning, he darted his eyes towards Sora and Riku, then back over to Axel. When he caught Roxas looking he sent him a smile. Roxas froze. He wasn't…

"So Blondie, when brings you to Traverse Town?"

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Roxas attempted to scoot his chair a little further away.

"Job trouble", he answered curtly, quickly shoving a bite of food into his mouth as so to give him an excuse not to talk to the guy next to him. Good God, as if he wasn't a big enough freak before hand.

No, he stopped himself. No, he didn't have proof. There was a very good chance that he was just creepy or something…

"Oh." Axel blinked, surprised by the sharp tone. It was completely at war with the blonde's soft, angelic, appearance. "Well…I'm sorry. That sucks."

"You don't say." Roxas muttered, rolling his eyes. Frowning, Axel sent Reno an inquiring look, a visual, 'Did I do something?' But Reno just shrugged. He was as confused about the ice surrounding the blonde as his brother.

"Well, let us know if there's anything we can do to help." Reno offered. Looking up, Roxas nodded.

"Okay, thanks."

Biting his lip, Sora bit back a groan. Oh yes, this was off to a fantastic start…

* * *

Fifteen minutes into dinner and things hadn't improved. Roxas was responding to anything Axel said with snaps and snark, ignoring Riku at all costs and mumbling awkward replies when Sora attempted conversation. Reno and Kairi were as confused at their brother. The casserole lay forgotten on the counter.

Sora and Kairi were currently engaged in a conversation about a class they were both taking at the local college, how the teacher was a hard-ass and how they were so swamped with homework, when Riku finally dropped the ball.

"So, Axel. How did things go with that guy the other night. The one from the bar."

To his left, Axel could see Roxas visibly stiffen, but he couldn't for the life of him image why. He'd tried striking up conversation with him several times and the blonde had shut him down each time. So what, he was suddenly interested now that he feared Axel might be taken? Was that it?

He was so focused on Roxas that he didn't notice the way Sora paled, shooting daggers beside him at Riku. The way Riku's arm came around Sora, rubbing gently at his shoulder.

"Well, he was cute and all, but nothing happened. I mean, he was great when he was buying me drinks and shit, you know, from across the bar. But when I got up close, Good Lord did he reek. I mean seriously BO. Like the guy had never even _heard_ of a little thing called soap."

"Aaaw" Kairi groaned, "_That's_ what that smell was? I thought you rolled in a dumpster or something."

"What the fuck Kai? Since when do I roll in dumpsters?"

"Well, there was that one time you accidentally threw away your retainer." Reno commented.

"I was twelve!"

"Mere semantics."

"Good God", Axel rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat. Turning slightly, he sent Roxas a grin. "Brothers. What can you do?"

Roxas, who had been very quiet up until now, cringed. He'd been trying to be good, really he had, but it was getting more and more difficult. He could no longer pretend that the redheaded freak next to him was merely weird or creepy…but no. He was one of _them. _Like that silver hair bastard, like his traitor of a brother. Said brother had been sending him desperate looks all night, worried. Part of him had found satisfaction in that, let his brother see what homosexuality got you in this world, but another part wanted to heed his pleading. Wanted to sit here and behave like he'd promised Sora he would. But he didn't want to sit here and bond with this perverted freak. He didn't want to makes conversation or share brotherly experiences. He just wanted him to go away and leave him alone, maybe go seek out BO guy from the bar, because really, when you were planning on playing with his _ass_ anyway, odor couldn't possibly be that big of an issue

When Roxas didn't reply Axel just sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.

"Look, I don't get it, did I do something? Say something? I mean a lot so I'm very prone to saying the wrong thing, seriously, just tell me what it is…"

"It's none of your business." He snapped, dropping his fork into his plate with a clang. Angrily he stood, shoving his chair back. Axel, however, wasn't content to just let things slide. Reaching out, he grabbed Roxas's arm, preventing his escape.

"Like hell it isn't. Look whatever is wrong-"

"Fine!" Roxas exclaimed, slamming his plant back on the table. "You wanna know what's wrong? You're fucking wrong! And get your fucking hand off me!" Angrily he slapped Axel's hand away, the sharp sound of skin on skin ringing through the suddenly silent room. "I should have known better when I saw you, God. I swear, is there something in the water out here?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how this whole fucking town is overrun with queer ass motherfuckers! Seriously! Just stop talking to me, stop looking at me, stop fucking _flirting_ with my. I'm not some disgusting faggot like you so just stop it!" When no one spoke he turned to Sora. His brother was staring, his eyes large and shocked and shiny, wet with unshed tears. Beside him, Riku looked furious; Sora's grip on his arm the only thing keeping him to his seat. "I said I wouldn't say anything about you Sora, I never said anything about your…_friends_." He hissed the word like it was something dirty, glaring at Axel while he did so.

The redhead could only stare in disbelief at the vile spilling from his angel's mouth. That's what was really wrong here. It was just unnatural and just…well… heartbreaking.

He hadn't been in real, true love of course. That takes time to grow and develop and takes more than just an attraction to some blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, but he had fallen very deeply in like. The kind of crushes developed by highschoolers on that one perfect person in the popular crowd. Shallow and fickle, but strong. He'd spent hours building castles in the sky, fantasizing about what Roxas would be like in person. Making him smile, laugh, melt. He'd built his hope up so high there was probably a giant living at the top of them, but with each angry step that Roxas took up those stairs, he felt them crumble just a little more.

* * *

**FINALLY!1 Okay, so I've had writer's block since September, and I finally managed to break out of it. So when I got going on a roll tonight I kept going. I got pretty tired near the end, so I hope it's not too crappy. Anyways, I hope the length makes up for the wait. Anyways, like I said, I'm coming off of writer's block so i apologize if the quality isn't up to my usual standard. Let me know what you think!**

**_Redfaerie**


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